Staies intent office



T.'H. BOURKE. Piston-Packing for Blower-Cylinders.

No. 196,627 Patented Oct. 30, 1877.

' formto .QFFIQE-* ri/li RoVEM Enr rN" Pl s ted-PACK Nero 'BJLOWE R-GYLI NDE 12s.

nasfirjrjnounxa;o jrounesrowr onro, ASSIGNOR o'r- Twocrumbs Hrs-n cer TQLLOYD BOOTH; AND JOHN MILLER, or sA E PLACE.

teammatenofleaeea, dated O ctober' 30, 1877; application filed June 16,1871,

Beitknq that 1,.lrro ns H; BOURKE, of Youngstown, inthe county ofMahon'ing and Stateof Ohio,have invented certain new and usefulImprovements 1 in Packing I for Piston- Heads of Blowing- Gylinders forBlast Fur naces and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a' full,clear, and. exact description:

' thereof, which will enable others skilled in the ranged form a packingof any desired width; and, for the purpose of allowing the follower ofthe piston to be screwed up tight against the wood packing-rings, andyet a'llowtherings to expand radially to conform to any inequalities ofthe cylinder, 1 place between each of the wooden packing-rings thusformed a layer or layers of rubber'cloth, felt, or woolen cloth, andthus allow each segment to have, if need be, a free and independentadjustment to conthe interior surface of the cylinder, and make a betterand more durable packing. The packing thus constructed is supported upona base-ring, which may be of a series of segments, or have a single cut,so as to be forced outward with the packing by a series of springsarranged in an annular space andsecured in a peculiar manner to a thinmetallic band fitted upon an interior hub of the pistonhead whereby thesprings are held in place. As the springs are used in spiral form, andwithin an uninterrupted space, it is important that they should be heldin proper position; and for this purpose I secure them all to athinmetallic band, by upsetting lips therefrom of a length sufficient to belapped and clinched over the bottom coils of the springs thusfreference'beingfhad to the accompanyformin'gaband of springs which canbe serted in place as an entirety.

'. In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a section of the cylinder of ablast-furnace'embrac- :ingmy invention; Fig. 2, the piston-head, withpart of the follower broken away. Fig. 3 shows a portion of thesegmental wooden packing and-the intermediate fabric layers; Fig. 4, aportion of the thin metal band with its upset lips by which. to fastenthe spring-coils there-- to; Fig. 5, a section of the packing portion ofI thepiston head, of slightly different form; Fig.

6, one of the wooden packing-segments with the fabric layer turned up atone end; and Fig. 7, ga spring of helical form arranged at the under,portion of the piston in horizontal cylinders. V

The wooden segments a are of suitable thick-' ness, and sawed to acircle adapted to that of the cylinder 1), in which they are to be used.They may be of any desired length and width, and they are arranged sidebyside in a manner to break joints, as shown in Fig. 3, and to form apacking of any desired width. When 'so arranged each line of segmentsforms a wooden ring, and between each two of the series of wooden ringsI place a layer of rubber cloth, woolen, or of any flexible fabric, a,of a width equal to that of the segments, by which the segments may bepressed or forced by the follower d hard against each other and againstthe inner side of the piston-head e, and yet allow the segments to havefree and independent movements outward to conform to any ianequalitiesin the inner surface of the cylin- A ring, f, of segments, or cut at asingle point, forms a seat and support for the wooden packing, and isforced outward by the action of a series of coiled springs, g, arrangedin an annular space, h, formed between a hub, i, of the piston and thesaid band or ring f.

To secure these springs in their proper places, they are mounted upon athin strip, j, of metal, by lips 7r, upset from said band long enough tobe bent and clinched over the inner coils of said springs, and when sofastened the band is strapped or seated around the piston-hub, and thusbecomes a single fixture with thqsprings. This is important as a simpleeaclr other." Thepiston-hu'b, while serving'y'the purpose described,serves also as a means for securing the follower in place.

In upright cylinders the springs may be of uiensual spiral form andhaving equal tension but inhorizontal cylinders I make the lower groupof springs of helical form, as shown in Fig. 7 and having atensiongreater than that of the dflIB ISjjfO 1 the purpose of ,exertinga forcetending to lift the piston-head, and thus counteract the unequal wearwhich would occur at the lowerside of the piston: f

It will be observed that the segments a form the piston-packing proper,and that the thin woven fabric strips 0, interposed between saidsegments; form'no part of the packing-sm'face; and have nopackingfimction, as; by reason oftlieir thinness; they have no body, butare nififsepaiatingstrips of cloth- Theysimply semen give hetterfreedomfor theindependeiit movement of the packing-segments, to conibiiiitii-anyinequalities in the interior walls of the. cylinder. They do notthemselves-confoi' .-tosuch inequalities. They are, therefor unlike apacking composed of wood or ii nn aiid leather or rubber rings, which'alike' tu e the wearing-surface and expand and ;.as' described: 2

scribed.

a continuous seat and support for packingsegments; arranged breakjoiiitswitli rue pr g ya a ed a 1 fn s'tu annular space,h,a1id"su'1iportingsaid divided ring and packing-segments at all pointsalike,

. TH? 'E'; f 3. The annular unobstructed space'h, the springs g, thering f, and'the band j, arranged within said elm-man spaeeror; sraueawahthe segmental packing-rings c, as described.

} 4. The springs combined .with a thin metal strip, to which they aresecured b upset lips 55 (dombina tup I;

the ring-seat thef q j i il p .Which Saidswim @{w thesprings-of sp ra s:f ihepmr 's as In testimony that 01a;

thepresence twowitnesses. s, 5 ,1 1 BOURKE? a Witnesses: -W..BUc1ims,.-Wi I a LLOYD BOOT:

